You Instead (2012)

Too many fans seem to be blown away

Nice effects though.

Beautiful, moving film.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Look. This movie is not going to win any awards. It's very short and honestly, there's NOT a whole lot of actual story here. However, I thought it was a nice little distraction. I enjoyed the chemistry between the two main characters. Are they gonna win Oscars for their acting? Eh. They were obnoxious but I liked them. The music was great. I loved hearing all the new songs and hearing some old ones in a whole new way. Actually, I really enjoyed all of the music in the movie. Is this movie gonna change your life? Nope. It's definitely not going to do that. Sometimes a movie just is what it is and that's OK! Give it a chance....

"If musicians can't get along what hope we got?" After Morello (Tena) shakes Adam's (Treadway) car in order to make him stop playing guitar they start to fight. When a security guard drives by and sees them he decides the only way to make them get along is to handcuff them together. That sounds bad enough but they are at a music festival and are both scheduled to play and no one knows where the key is. For those that have been following my reviews you may have noticed that I am not a fan of cheesy, predictable, un-original movies. This movie is an exception to that rule. Five minutes in the two are handcuffed together and after about 6 minutes you know how it will end. That said it is still very entertaining and really fun to watch. The music is actually really good as well and the song where the sample "Tainted Love" is great. This is nothing more then a cheesy predictable love story but even so I enjoyed it and I recommend it. Overall, nothing new and won't keep you guessing but this is still very much worth seeing. I really liked it. I give it an B+.

You Instead is as close as it gets to being at a music festival without actually being there. Right from the start the audience is wholly immersed in the festival atmosphere. This is, in part, down to the crew shooting the entirety of the film at the T in the Park event in Scotland and featuring the artists performing there (Biffy Clyro and Joe Mango to name two).Director David Mackenzie took the two actors and their supporting cast and literally dropped them in it. Up to their knees in mud at times and performing amongst a genuine crowd of revellers from start to finish. Luke Treadaway and Natalia Tena are more than convincing as frontmen of their respective bands, largely helped by Tena's burgeoning career as a musician with her group Molotov Jukebox.You Instead takes brilliant advantage of an environment where the rules of daily life no longer apply. The result is a film populated with larger than life characters in a world we rarely get a glimpse of, and it's a great fun place to spend an hour and a half.

Difficult to know where to start with this one, as there is so much that is wrong with You Instead that I could easily fill twice IMDb's word limit and then some. Here are a few basic points: The plot is so slight and implausible as to be almost non-existent. In the hands of a good director this would not necessarily be a bad thing if the ensuing action was engaging, funny or persuasive. Sadly, none of it is - 'Somewhere' this is not. Indeed, it has all the hallmarks of a film that started shooting without a fully realised script and has relied on improvisation and hasty rewrites to get by - ie. a lack of narrative drive which is further hobbled by stilted dialogue, devoid of the sparkle or wit that you need if you're basic premise is as flimsy as You Instead's is. I sense that there was an attempt to construct some sort of episodic structure to make up for this lack of cohesive plot, but none of it knits together, satisfyingly or otherwise. The filmmakers will probably claim that it's meant to capture the spirit of T in the Park and that it's aimed at a young audience. But that cannot excuse this long ribbon of tripe, which would be only slightly more convincing if it was presented as the product of a student project. No doubt You Instead be funnelled into that most dubious of categories 'Cult Classic', but don't be fooled, folks, avoid!